During the match, the Belarusian tennis player approached the chair umpire, asking for intervention due to the strong odor. "Someone is smoking marijuana. Can you do something about it? The smell is very strong," said Sabalenka. After a brief pause, the match continued. The incident did not affect the performance of the world’s number one: Sabalenka confidently defeated Rakhimova in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, and advanced to the next round of the tournament. The US Open is taking place in New York, where marijuana use by adults is legal. However, smoking is prohibited in several public places, and the tournament organizers do not allow such behavior on the sports complex grounds. Thus, the unusual episode became one of the highlights of Sabalenka's match, but the athlete managed to quickly return to the game and finished the encounter with a victory.
